Dear Sir:
In his letter of the 28th of April, Michael Stuart seeks to undermine the credibility of what I have been saying about concentrating solar power (CSP) by suggesting that "engineers ... must take into account practical considerations of what is feasible and affordable". As it happens, I am a Chartered Engineer with industrial experience and I am fully aware of those issues.
Michael Stuart suggests that the problem of reducing our dependence on fossil fuels "is difficult enough, even with a dramatic expansion of nuclear power". What he fails to recognise is that there are now several reports showing in considerable detail how we can decarbonise our energy supplies ***without using nuclear power***. Since nuclear power is dirty, dangerous and expensive, it is good to know that it is not needed. There are short summaries of these reports and links for downloading on www.mng.org.uk/green_house/scenarios.htm <http://www.mng.org.uk/green_house/scenarios.htm> .
In a recent interview on ABC TV (Australia), US venture capitalist Vinod Khosla describes some of the advantages of CSP and large-scale HVDC transmission grids, and some of the shortcomings of nuclear power. That interview may be downloaded and viewed via a link at the bottom of www.trec-uk.org.uk/resources.htm <http://www.trec-uk.org.uk/resources.htm> .
Sincerely,
Dr Gerry Wolff
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